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Family time
New season of ‘This Is Us’ continues on NBC
By Breanna Henry
TV Media
M
any of us need a good
cry every now and then,
which may be why “This is Us”
has become one of the most
popular prime-time soap op-
eras since “Dallas” defined the
genre in 1978. Showrunner Dan
Fogelman (who also brought us
“Galavant” and “Pitch”) has
created a beautiful, touching
family drama that is as timeless
as it is modern. You can watch it
Tuesday, Oct. 29, on NBC.
In case you haven’t managed
to catch one of the 58 episodes
that have aired since the series
premiered in 2016, “This is Us”
is a family drama rife with trag-
edy, romance and even some
laughs to counteract the tears
you will inevitably shed as you
spend time with the Pearson
“triplets,” their parents and ev-
eryone else who comes into their
lives. Since Season 4 of the series
has just begun, I’ll do my best to
avoid any spoilers, and instead
attempt to introduce “The Big
Three” to anyone who may not
know them yet.
The series opens in 1980,
with Jack (Milo Ventimiglia,
“Heroes”) and Rebecca Pearson
(Mandy Moore, “Tangled,”
2010) celebrating Jack’s 36th
birthday. Rebecca’s yearly ren-
dition of “Happy Birthday Mr.
President” is a little different this
time — she’s heavily pregnant
with triplets, so a sexy dance
isn’t really in the cards. Though
it opens with sweet comedy, I
spent the last half of the first
episode ugly-crying into my very
confused dog’s fur.
Jack and Rebecca lose one of
their triplets during childbirth,
but after an emotional talk about
lemonade with the doctor (that
made me cry), a chance encoun-
ter with a fireman (that made me
cry) and Jack consoling his wife
as she wakes up to the news (that
really made me cry), the couple
end up filling all three cribs they
have waiting at home after all.
2 | Screentime
They are known as “The Big
Three” and we are introduced to
them on their 36th birthdays in
2016. Justin Hartley (“The Young
and the Restless”) plays Kevin,
the eldest triplet, an oft-shirtless
sitcom star teetering on the edge
of a mental breakdown. Second-
born Kate, played by Chrissy
Metz (“Breakthrough,” 2019),
has issues with weight that have
defined her since childhood. The
final “triplet,” played by Emmy
winner Sterling K. Brown (“Black
Panther,” 2018), is Randall, who,
after being abandoned on the
steps of a fire station moments
after his birth, was adopted by
the Pearson family.
Their lives are messy and
imperfect. Kevin and Randall
aren’t on speaking terms, and
Kate resents their mother — but
they are family, and this is them.
“This Is Us” also shows the
changes in dynamic as spouses
and significant others, like Ran-
dall’s wife Beth (Susan Kelechi
Watson, “Louie”) and Kate’s
husband Toby (Chris Sullivan,
“The Knick”), become part of
the family. The show punches
you right in the feelings and will
make you contemplate your
own family relationships, no
matter how dysfunctional they
may be. You, the viewer, have
loved and lost and fought and
feared, and over in the writer’s
room, they know that Jack’s
drinking problem or Toby’s
depression or Kate’s insecuri-
ties or Rebecca’s grief (or all of
the above) will speak to you.
Something in this series will
remind you of your own life, and
you will cry. But you will laugh,
swoon, rage and cheer, too.
The ensemble cast of “This is
Us” is so talented and diverse
that I could easily have used
all of my allotted words just
mentioning them all, especially
since the same characters are
played by three or more differ-
ent actors at different stages in
their lives. Part of the reason the
cast is so real is because Fogel-
man is committed to creating
October 23, 2019 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald
Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia in a scene from “This Is Us”
diversity behind the scenes as
future seamlessly within a single into our future, and if you look
well. He ensured that directors,
hard enough, there are clues
episode. You are never confused
writers and consultants for the
as to what the future holds for
as to what time period you’re
series were people who could
the Pearsons in each and every
watching, despite the show
understand the many issues that flip-flopping from decade to
scene.
are important to the characters:
“This is Us” may be a soap
decade within moments. Effort
blackness, womanhood, weight
opera, but it does soapy-drama
has been taken to subtly date
and more.
each scene, from a split-second
in such a realistic, down-to-earth
One of the most beautiful
shot of Kevin’s G.I. Joe lunchbox
way that I didn’t even get to
things about “This is Us” is the
(the cartoon ran until 1986), to
say, “Hush! I’m watching my
way it tells its story through
the MacBook Air in Randall’s
soaps!” because I didn’t catch
time, weaving moments in the
office (which was first issued
on until someone pointed it out.
in 2008). “This is Us” stretches
triplets’ lives from before they
Still feeling iffy about getting
from the mid-1940s to years
were born to further on in the
into a series with a massive cast
and even longer timeline? Ask
a friend who keeps up with the
show and watch the expression
on their face as they relive the
moment Jack and Rebecca met,
the death of Randall’s biological
father, Kate’s wedding, Kevin’s
first crush and Jack’s time in
Vietnam.
Past seasons are binge-wor-
thy and ready for you on Netflix
if you need to catch up. The new
season of “This is Us” airs Tues-
day nights on NBC.